+1 to what BH is saying in his post. I hatehatehate that these cameras are out there - because when driving down to Limerick (which is going to be all-motorway by the end of this month ) I want to be able to drop the hammer and flake down it at 90mph or more. And I could neither confirm-nor-deny that this has happened in the past. But that doesn't make it right. The limit is there for a reason. Human reflexes are not evolved to deal with speeds that fast. And even if you had amazing reflexes a tonne-and-some of metal will only slow down at a certain rate which probably isn't going to be quick enough in an emergency.

I do think that we should have better signage of speed-limits - I sometimes find myself driving along and I'm imitating the speed of the other drivers but I haven't seen a sign in quite a while and I wonder am I doing the right speed or not. And other times I can see the limit posted and it is obviously far too slow for the quality of roads (presumably set by some local committee who are afraid of their children wandering out in front of traffic with no thought as to whether it is appropriate or not)

Also - what I want in my next car isn't something to tell me I'm going to fast - I want cruise-control so that I can just set it at the speed limit and sit back and not think about it after that.

wii4miinow wrote:

I don't see guards checking for indicator usage at roundabouts now do I?Why not set up the cameras there and find people 10 or 20 euro a shot for inappropriate lane and indicator usage in roundabouts.Oh! No! That might actually mean that drivers might have to change their behaviour.

Actually that is a bugbear of mine also. Civil engineers in this country loooooove the roundabout but most Irish people have only the haziest idea of how to use them. Sometimes I find myself making the decision to use the lanes on a roundabout incorrectly because I know that if I try to use them correctly I'll have some know-nothing eejit getting his foot up on top of the horn so as to sufficiently indicate his (pathetically mistaken) opinion of my driving.

that would work a lot better in a country where people are taught to drive well - I don't see that working in Ireland. From what I can see many Irish drivers really struggle with concepts more complicated than aiming the car in the direction they wish to travel and stamping down on the accelerator.

I have no problem with these spped cameras.It's about time actually. Slow down. I see people speed up to junctions even though the ligts are red.It's driving without thinking.Obey the limits and you have nothing to worry about.

I agree with you. People need to respect the speed limit, and where it's too high ask to have it changed.For instance, the other day I was coming up to a roundabout, and just fifty yards from the roundabout, there was a sign telling you it was safe to travel at 80 - when you should probably be down to 30 or even 20.In contrast on a recent visit to Spain, in a similar situation, I came across a sign telling me to slow down, first to 70, and shortly afterwards, to 40.And then we have all those single-lane country roads where the powers that be think it is fine to travel at 80 ...Who dreams all this stuff up?

Back to those cameras, though: how likely are they to be out when people are driving home from the pub or party? Isn't that when most of the slaughter happens?

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Think I got done two nights ago, judging by the white van on the side of the road and the flash as I went past it. Time, and the letter in the post, will tell. Same situation as two years ago -- dual carriageway, either two or three lanes each side, no junctions, with a sixty km/h limit where I assumed eighty. My mistake, of course, but presumably the fact that it's so easy to make is why they're out there shooting fish in a barrel. Pure money-making racket.

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You could go back and check where the last sign was that indicated the speed. If it is pretty far back you could have a case that it wasn't well-posted. No clue what the law is on this one but judges often have a lot of time for ordinary citizens in situations where the authorities are taking the piss. My own mother was given a parking ticket when it was not posted on the side of the road where she parked - only on the other side of the road (where she didn't park because it was posted as no-parking). The Dad was unimpressed with what was either crap signage or crap enforcement and went to court and challenged it and the judge agreed and tore up the ticket.

Actually that is another pet-hate of mine. You know the way if you challenge points being assigned to you and you lose in court then you get more points because you lost in court? I think thats crap. Complete crap. Obviously they want to encourage people to just take the medicine they're being given whether its fair or not with the threat of more points if they dare to complain. WTF? How about the idea of fairness or the right to challange the authority of those who reckon themselves to be our lords and masters or some kind of right to redress.

Think I got done two nights ago, judging by the white van on the side of the road and the flash as I went past it. Time, and the letter in the post, will tell. Same situation as two years ago -- dual carriageway, either two or three lanes each side, no junctions, with a sixty km/h limit where I assumed eighty. My mistake, of course, but presumably the fact that it's so easy to make is why they're out there shooting fish in a barrel. Pure money-making racket.

annoying

now you have to inform your insurance who will of course load your next premuim because clearly your a bigger risk now than you were last year

Yes Speed Camera's are just more Police State/Nanny State ...feel good reflex politicsIt's so eejeits like Dempsey, Ahern, Gay Byrne etc. can pretend to be doing something; while in fact they haven't a clue.

IMHO, A big part of the accident problem is youth driver education (getting through to them on their level),and dealing with a few reckless renegades; but that is too difficult to tackle so we get stupid solutions like cameraswhich won't save a single life, and erode quality of life and personal freedom for all.

1. I checked the rules of the road and I could not find a prohibition on flashing of the headlights within it (at least within the october 2006 edition that I've got acces to). If you have a reference to illegality of the flashing of the headlights then I do appreciate if you let us know about that.

2. The Law. It's been pointed out here about the law and breaking the law in regard to speeding. Really there's a few things here. Inappropriate speeding is dangerous and should not be carried out. Speed in and of itselft is not dangerous unless combining circumstances make it so. The Law in this country is abused to suit the government and their buddies. You posted the Video. A lot of people in this country are out and out crooks. Good people get fucked over.

I'm going back now to primary school, there use to be diferent gangs of bullies who would make up the "rules" of playground behaviour. Rarely would they be challenged. They woudl gang up on individuals who did. I remember one day being fed up taking shit from one of the gang. A fight broke out. I came out on top that day but it could have gone the other way. We need good people to bring down the government in this country.

I'm almost thinking of marching with them TEEU workers just to see if I can cause damage to the clothing of government officials on the day. Does that make me a criminal? Probably so. But how so often have you seen criminal charges brought against all of the corruption that's been going on here since the foundatoin of the state. It's a nest of magpies.

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